Unexpectedly high recanalization rate in patients with pulmonary embolism treated with anticoagulants alone.

The rate of residual thrombosis, defined as the long-term persistence of thrombotic material in the pulmonary artery tree after pulmonary embolism (PE), is uncertain. Although a systematic review reported low recanalization rates (43% at 6 mo) (1), most studies used perfusion or ventilation–perfusion lung scanning or older generation computed tomography (CT) scanners. In a prospective study we determined the rate of residual thrombosis in a cohort of consecutive patients with acute PE as detected by 64-row multidetector CT (MDCT), treated with anticoagulants alone and reassessed 6 months later with the same high-technology procedure.